The present invention is directed to a liquid containment and dispensing package, and to a method of manufacturing the same, in which the package container has a pour spout that is blow molded with the container as a single unit.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,917,269, 5,207,356 and 5,941,422 disclose liquid containment and dispensing packages in which the container has a pour spout that extends from the container dispensing opening to facilitate dispensing of the liquid content of the container into a dosage cap/closure. In containers for packages of this type, the pour spout is typically formed either separately from the container and secured as a fitment, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,422, or is formed integrally with the finish of the container in an injection molding operation, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,917,269 and 5,207,356. Forming a separate fitment for securement to the container finish in a post-molding operation undesirably increases the cost of manufacture. Likewise, use of injection molding apparatus to form the container finish and pour spout, followed by extrusion blow molding of the container body, undesirably increases the cost of manufacture by increasing the cost of manufacturing tooling. It has been proposed in the past to form the container body, finish and pour spout in a single blow molding operation (followed by trimming as required), but the results have not been entirely satisfactory.
It is a general object of the present invention, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, to provide a container and closure package, and a method of making the same, in which the container body, finish and pour spout are integrally blow molded in a single operation, and in which the container finish has an internal throat of reduced diameter adapted for sliding plug-sealing engagement with an inner skirt of the closure, while the outer skirt of the closure has an internal thread received over an external thread molded into the container finish. It is another object of the present invention, in accordance with a second aspect of the invention, to provide a container for dispensing liquid product, a method of making such container, and a container and closure package, in which a pour lip is formed on the container spout during the molding and/or trimming operation, for reducing drippage from the pour spout, and/or in which one or more drip ledges extend around the external surface of the pour spout for capturing any liquid that may drip from the edge of the pour spout and feed such liquid back to the inside of the container. It is a further object of the invention, in accordance with a third aspect of the invention, to provide a closure for a container and closure package in which the closure is constructed for enhanced sealing engagement with the container finish.
The present invention embodies several aspects, which may be used separately from or in combination with each other, and different aspects of the invention have a number of alternative preferred embodiments. A container and closure package in accordance with one aspect of the invention includes a container having a body, a finish wall extending from the body with at least one external thread, a circular throat at an axial edge of the finish wall remote from the body and having a lesser inner diameter than the finish wall, and a pour spout extending axially from the throat at greater inner diameter than the throat. The container body, finish wall, throat and pour spout are of integrally blow molded construction as formed, with the inside diameter of the throat being optionally reamed or otherwise trimmed as required for sealing engagement with the closure. The closure has a base wall, a peripheral outer skirt extending from the base wall with an internal thread for receipt over the external thread on the container finish wall, and an internal skirt extending from the base wall and spaced radially inwardly from the outer skirt for sliding plug-sealing receipt within the throat, with the pour spout being disposed between the inner and outer skirts of the closure. The internal skirt may optionally have a circumferentially continuous external bead for interference sliding fit within the container throat to enhance sealing engagement between the internal skirt and the container throat. The pour spout has an angulated upper edge formed by trimming a moil from the spout in the container as molded. A pour lip of increased inside diameter may extend part-way around the upper edge, and may be formed by molding a portion of the spout wall radially outwardly offset from the remainder of the spout and then trimming the spout edge along a plane that intersects this offset portion of the spout wall.
A container for dispensing liquid product in accordance with another aspect of the invention includes a hollow body, a finish wall extending from the body with an external thread, a circular throat at an axial edge of the finish wall remote from the body and having a lesser diameter than the finish wall, and a cylindrical spout extending from the throat coaxially with the throat and the finish wall at a greater inner diameter than the throat. The pour spout terminates in a planar edge at an angle to the axis of the spout to form a pour opening. A planar ledge externally extends around the spout at greater angle than the edge to the axis of the spout so as to be spaced from the edge at one side of the spout and to intersect the edge at an opposing side of the spout. The container body, finish wall, throat, pour spout and ledge are of integrally blow molded construction as formed. Any liquid product that may drip from the pour spout is captured by the planar ledge and fed by gravity back into the container body when the container body is moved to an upright position. In the preferred embodiments, the body includes an integrally formed handle, and the planar ledge is angled to intersect the edge of the pour spout adjacent to the handle.
A closure for a container and closure package in accordance with a further aspect of the present invention includes a base wall having a peripheral outer skirt with an internal thread for receipt over an external thread on a container finish. An inner cylindrical skirt extends from the base wall and is spaced radially inwardly from the outer skirt for sliding plug-sealing receipt within a throat on the container. The inner skirt may have an outer surface with a radial step that is so positioned with respect to the thread on the outer skirt that the thread on the outer skirt engages a thread on the container finish before the step engages the finish throat. The internal skirt may include a circumferentially continuous external bead for interference fit within the container throat for improving the sealing engagement between the inner skirt and the container throat. This bead preferably lies in a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the closure, and preferably is axially positioned to make sliding contact with the container finish during the last half-turn of the closure onto the finish.
In the preferred embodiments of the invention, a pour lip extends around an upper edge of the spout remote from the handle. The pour lip in various embodiments of the invention includes an undercut molded into an outer surface of the spout immediately beneath the edge, a hook-shaped lip that extends radially outwardly from the spout at the edge, and a part-cylindrical wall portion radially outwardly offset from the pour spout. In several preferred embodiments, there are a pair of parallel planar drip ledges externally extending around the spout and axially spaced from each other for enhanced capture of any liquid that may drip from the pour lip.